1 Corinthians 6:18 - Flee Sexual Sin.
1 Corinthians 6:18 - Flee Sexual Sin.
1 Corinthians 6:18 (TNIV) Flee from sexual immorality. All
other sins people commit are outside their bodies, but those who sin
sexually sin against their own bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:18 (NLT) Run from sexual sin! No other sin so
clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a
sin against your own body.
1 Corinthians 6:18 (EAV) Shun immorality and all sexual
looseness [flee from impurity in thought, word, or deed]. Any other sin
which a man commits is one outside the body but he who commits sexual
immorality sins against his own body.
1 Corinthians 6:18 (MSG) There is a sense in which sexual sins
are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the
sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and
God-modeled love, for "becoming one" with another.
CONTEXT: Sexual Immorality: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20.
Not only were the Corinthian believers compromising with the
world, but they were also losing their testimony before the world by
taking each other to court before pagan judges. Paul repeatedly asked,
"Do you not know?" (vv. 2, 3, 15, 16, 19). They were ignorant of
some basic truths of the Christian life.
We will judge angels (1-8). If God entrusts that great a
responsibility to His people, can't He help us with our petty decisions today?
We have been changed (9-12). We are not what we once were, so
why should we live as we once lived? It is a matter not of "What is
lawful?" but of "What is helpful?"
We belong to the Lord (13-20). He made the human body, He
dwells in believers by His Spirit, and He purchased us at the Cross.
The believer's body belongs to God and must be used to glorify Him.
[Chapter by Chapter Bible Commentary by Warren Wiersbe re 1Co. 6]
COMMENTARY APPLICATION With Emphasis On Verse 18.
Flee. The Greek indicates a habitual, continuous attitude and
action. That is, make it a habit to flee. Do not stop to parley with the
temper when he confronts you with any kind of invitation to indulge in
immorality. It is dangerous to hesitate and argue with conscience;
determined, immediate flight from the temptation is the only safe course to
take (see CH 587). This injunction to make no attempt to stand and
argue with the temptation to impurity but to turn and flee from it
cannot be disregarded with impunity. The temptation to fornication
(sexual sin) may often prove so subtle that a person is safe only by
fleeing from it. He is free from pollution only when he refuses to
harbor an immoral thought; secure only when he turns his eyes away from
any object that might suggest an impure thought (see 2 Sam. 11:2-4;
Job 31:1; Prov. 6:23-26; Matt. 5:27-29). There is no other way to
avoid the pollution of fornication than that stated by Paul, and no
one is safe who refuses to follow this instruction. Joseph
demonstrated the importance of flight from this evil thing (see Gen. 39:7-12;
5T 596). Many individuals would be saved from tears, remorse,
poverty, want, disease, and lifelong misery if only they would give heed
to the words, "Flee fornication." [SDA Bible Commentary]
"Flee sexual immorality" (1 Cor. 6:18) reminds us of Joseph when
he fled from Potiphar's wife (Gen. 39). "Flee also youthful lusts"
(2 Tim. 2:22) is a parallel admonition. When it comes to the devil,
resist him and he will flee from you (James 4:7); but when it comes to
temptations of the flesh, you do the fleeing! [Chapter by Chapter Bible
Commentary by Warren Wiersbe re 1Co. 6]
Flight is apparently the only safeguard against this temptation
(cf. Gen. 39:12; Job 31:1-4, 9-12). [Jamieson, Fausset, And Brown
Commentary]
Sexual immorality is one of the worst of sins, for it violates
the intimate relationship which a person has with Jesus Himself and
the indwelling Holy Spirit. [Victor Teacher's Commentary]
Sexual sin affects us like no other sin. It isn't that it is the
heaviest on some imaginary sin scale, but rather, that its effects are
broad and devastating. In sexual sin, we sin not only against ourself,
but also against other people and against God. [Life Recovery SB]
"Sexual immorality" has a peculiar effect upon the body. The
sole purpose of this sin is the gratification of lust; and,
therefore, it is probably the most selfish of all sins (cf. Matt. 5:32,
note). The internal spiritual sensitivities are wrecked by this sin.
[Believer's SB]
It is the lack of harmonious action in the human organism that
brings disease. The imagination may control the other parts of the body
to their injury. All parts of the system must work harmoniously.
The different parts of the body, especially those remote from the
heart, should receive a free circulation of blood. The limbs act an
important part and should receive proper attention.
God is the great caretaker of the human machinery. In the care
of our bodies we must co-operate with Him. Love for God is
essential for life and health. In order to have perfect health our hearts
must be filled with hope and love and joy.
The lower passions are to be strictly guarded. The perceptive
faculties are abused, terribly abused, when the passions are allowed to
run riot. When the passions are indulged, the blood, instead of
circulating to all parts of the body, thereby relieving the heart and
clearing the mind, is called in undue amount to the internal organs.
Disease comes as the result. The man cannot be healthy until the evil is
seen and remedied.
"He that is joined unto the Lord"--bound up with Christ in the
covenant of grace--"is one spirit. Flee fornication." 1 Corinthians 6:17,
18. Do not stop for one moment to reason. Satan would rejoice to see
you overthrown by temptation. Do not stop to argue the case with
your weak conscience. Turn away from the first step of transgression.
CH587
Flee Fornication. There is force and emphasis in the word
"flee" [feugate (grk 5343)]. Man should ESCAPE from it; he should not
stay to REASON about it; to debate the matter; or even to CONTEND
with his propensities, and to try the strength of his virtue. There
are some sins which a man can RESIST; some about which he can reason
without danger of pollution. But this is a sin where a man is SAFE only
when he flies; free from pollution only when he refuses to entertain
a thought of it; secure when he seeks a victory by flight, and a
conquest by retreat. Let a man turn away from it without reflection on it
and he is safe. Let him think, and reason, and he may be ruined.
"The very passage of an impure thought through the mind leaves
pollution behind it." An argument on the subject often leaves pollution; a
description ruins; and even the presentation of motives AGAINST it may often
fix the mind with dangerous inclination on the crime. There is no
way of avoiding the pollution but in the manner prescribed by Paul;
there is no man safe who will not follow his direction. How many a
young man would be saved from poverty, want, disease, curses, tears,
and hell, could these TWO WORDS be made to blaze before him....
This is the FOURTH argument against indulgence in this vice;
and it is more striking and forcible. The sense is, "It wastes the
bodily energies; produces feebleness, weakness, and disease; it impairs
the strength, enervates the man, and shortens life." Were it proper,
this might be PROVED to the satisfaction of every man by an
examination of the effects of licentious indulgence. Those who wish to see
the effects stated may find them in Dr. Rush on the Diseases of the
Mind. Perhaps no single sin has done so much to produce the most
painful and dreadful diseases, to weaken the constitution, and to
shorten life as this. Other vices, as gluttony and drunkenness, do this
also, and all sin has SOME effect in destroying the body, but it is
true of this sin in an eminent degree. (Barnes' Notes)
Sexual sin is destructive, even when the effects are not
immediately apparent. God created sex to be a beautiful and essential
ingredient of marriage, but sexual sin--sex outside the marriage
relationship--always hurts someone. It hurts God because it shows that we prefer
following our own desires instead of the leading of the Holy Spirit. It
hurts others because it violates the commitment so necessary to a
relationship. It often brings disease to our bodies. And it deeply affects our
personalities, which respond in anguish when we harm ourselves physically and
spiritually. [Life Application SB]
The power of sexual sin must never be underestimated. Sexual
immorality is a temptation that is always before us. In movies and on
television, sex outside marriage is treated as a normal, even desirable,
part of life, while marriage is often shown as confining and joyless.
We can even be looked down on by others if we are suspected of
being pure. But God does not forbid sexual sin just to be difficult.
He knows its power to destroy us physically and spiritually. It has
devastated countless lives and destroyed families, churches, communities,
and even nations. God wants to protect us from damaging ourself and
others, and so he offers to fill us--our loneliness, our desires--with
himself. [Life Application SB]
Sexual sin is a violation of one's own body. Paul described it
as a sin that affects the body like no other, a sin that is against
[one's] own body. As in 6:13, the word "body" refers not to the flesh,
but to the whole being and personality. This sin has disastrous
effects. But what an enticement it can be for all people, and believers
are not exempt. Clearly other sins also affect the body, such as
gluttony or drunkenness, but no other sin has the same effect on the
memory, personality, or soul of a person as sexual sin. Paul argues that
in intercourse, people are united (6:16-17). Their spirits are not
involved in quite the same way in other sins. Also Paul argues that our
bodies are the temple of God (6:19-20). In sexual sin, a person removes
his or her body from God's control to unite with someone not in his
plan. Thus, those people violate God's purpose for their bodies. Satan
gladly uses sexual sin as a weapon, for he knows its power to destroy.
Thus, Paul says, don't walk, but run away from sexual sin. Believers
need to exercise alertness and awareness to stay away from places
where temptation is strong, and they need to use strong, evasive
action if they find themselves entrapped. (Life Application
Commentary)
Many people say they have the right to do whatever they want
with their own body. Although they think that this is freedom, they
are really enslaved to their own desires. [Life Application SB]
The great fact of the Christian faith is, not that it makes a
man free to sin, but that it makes a man free not to sin. It is so
easy to allow habits to master us; but the Christian strength enables
us to master them. When a man really experiences the Christian
power, he becomes, not the slave of his body, but its master. Often a
man says, "I will do what I like," when he means that he will
indulge the habit or passion which has him in its grip; it is only when
a man has the strength of Christ in him that he can really say, "I
will do what I like," and not, "I will satisfy the things that have
me in their power." [Barclay Commentary]
The body is not designed to be the member of an harlot nor of
any other immoral partner. The body was made to be the member of
Christ, which means that we are to honor Him with our bodies. We are to
take the sexual drive and energy of our bodies and use them in His
name or as He instructed: either we dedicate our lives solely to Him
as eunuchs, or we marry and build a family with the dynamic virtues
of love and care, trust and loyalty. [Preacher's Outline & Sermon
Bible]
The believer is a part of that redeemed body, or community,
which is set up to glorify Christ. The sin of fornication contrasts
with the true purpose of the body which is to reflect that glory.
Fornication is destructive of that purpose. It is aimed solely at the
satisfaction of the flesh and distracts the believer from realizing the
essential purpose of the body. May our goal here on earth be to present
our bodies as "a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service
and pleasing to him" (Ro 12.1). [Daily Devotional Bible]
"Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny."
Our thoughts are the fabric with which we weave our character and
destiny. We must actively fight off thoughts of impurity. But the key
to doing this is not simply saying "I will not lust, I will not
Lust" - that often has the same effect as saying, "I will not think of
purple elephants." We must cultivate our hearts and minds with what is
godly and pure. These better thoughts will displace others (Phi.4:8).
Randy Alcorn; [Time with God SB]
It's a common refrain in our day: "Don't impose on me your
concept of right and wrong." The problem with that attitude is that it
makes each person a god--answerable to no one. Because humanity is
inherently sinful and selfish, what one person decides is "right" might, be
harmful to someone else. One person may feel justified and right in
murdering someone. That's why societies have laws; otherwise, anarchy and
chaos would result.
People need a standard that exists outside of their sinful
selves. God has given standards in his Word. The more you mature in your
faith, the more discerning you will become. The Holy Spirit will help
you distinguish right from wrong. You'll be more able to incorporate
principles of right thinking and right action from the Bible, and they will
help you correctly judge moral situations.
God draws a line for right and wrong because he loves us. The
guidelines he gives keep us safe and happy. The boundaries he sets protect
us. When you begin to see that God's rules protect us, you begin to
understand that knowing right and wrong--and choosing right--are always the
best way to go. [The One Year Bible for New Believers re 1Co.
6:9-20]
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